Cheyenne to Great Falls

June 11/12th

One of the things that both Michael and I commented on several times is how green Cheyenne and most of Wyoming is this year.  When we lived there, we pretty much saw only two colors - brown or white.  I think there may have been green for about two weeks during the entire time we lived there.

I mentioned the R&B Breakfast Club in my last post.  If you ever happen to be driving through Cheyenne at breakfast time (or even almost lunchtime) we would wholeheartedly recommend you stop in for a breakfast burrito served with a side of Elvis.  And pick the red chili... it is milder!

Our second morning, we were trying to get on the road a bit earlier so we skipped a second visit to R&B Breakfast Club.  I can't say I'm totally disappointed about not getting in another visit.  I think I was still full from breakfast the day before.

As we drove out of Cheyenne, the girls pointed out every antelope and snow fence they saw.  They found it very interesting to see the antelope as they wandered freely around the base.

The scenery from Cheyenne to Great Falls was simply incredible.  When we lived in Wyoming before, I didn't get out of town too much.  When I did, it was usually to head toward Denver or Ft. Collins, Colorado.  Michael and I agreed that if you simply sang the first verse of America the Beautiful, it might come close to what we saw.

I took quite a few pictures of the landscape along the way.  Looking back over them, I realized that the majority of them do not show the majesty of what I was trying to capture.  As well, being shot from a moving vehicle with a cell phone camera, the majority are also of questionable quality.

Getting into Great Falls was a bit of a challenge as I went to refresh the directions on our cell phone's GPS only to discover that we had no cell service.  I knew the road we were on would eventually lead us to an interstate that goes to Great Falls.  We were thankful that we passed through a small town with cell service just in time to turn on a road that cut almost 4 hours off of the trip had we ended up going directly to the interstate.

Once we checked into the Temporary Lodging Facility on the Air Force base there, we all agreed that next time we'd take an extra day in Great Falls rather than in Cheyenne.  Most times, the Air Force bases have very nice lodging facilities.  Cheyenne, being an old Cavalry base, has their temporary lodging in historic buildings.

Up next: Great Falls, Montana to the Canadian border to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Houston to Grand Prairie (no extra 'e' on Grand) to Amarillo

June 8/9th

The Houston to Grand Prairie segment of the trip was mostly uneventful.  Michael traded his motorcycle for a truck (much more useful up here) and the shipping office was located in Grand Prairie, Texas.  We laughed because they most likely would be sending the truck back down to Houston before it headed to Alaska.  There was a bit of confusion beforehand because we visited the office that handles the household goods shipments at the end of April.  We were instructed where to go to ship the truck.  When I called a few weeks later to make sure I had all the necessary paperwork, I learned the contract had been awarded to another company, effective May 1st.  Then it was a bit of a scramble to figure out who the new company was and where they were located. 

Monday morning, June 9th, we washed the truck, in the rain, and dropped it off.  While Michael was handling all the paperwork for that, I stepped outside for a moment.  As I walked down the steps I suddenly realized that I was falling.  Unfortunately that realization came just as I hit the ground.  I am thankful that my wrist had been hurting from the packing and cleaning we did just before we left.  The wrist brace I was wearing took the brunt of the fall.  My left ankle was hurting and I wasn't sure if I could stand up.  I texted Michael and he came to the rescue.  Before he could get to me, two employees came out and helped me up.  It turned out that I had not sprained my ankle as I had originally thought, but I had scraped it up pretty badly.  

Once the truck was sorted out, we decided that it would be best to pick up another copy of the registration receipt in the event we needed it for border crossings.  We still don't know if the sticker on the window is the official registration or if the receipt is the official registration since commercial vehicles are the only vehicles required to keep the receipt in the vehicle.  Either way, we thought it would be a good idea to have a copy.  After waiting in the courthouse parking lot for over two hours, I was beginning to rethink our decision to pick up a copy.  Michael had gone inside and when he first picked up a number, his was in the 500s.  They were still working through the 300s at the time.  As people left, he noticed someone throw their number to the side and walk out.  He picked it up and moved up almost 70 places in line.  It took about two minutes and $2 at the window and he walked out with a copy of the receipt.

Finally, around 2pm we were on the road.  Until we got into Wichita Falls, Texas.... Michael noticed that he had been passing quite a few cars and asked me if I'd noticed a speed limit drop.  I told him I had not.  Just about that time, Michael noticed a police officer on a motorcycle turn his lights on and pull in behind us.  Apparently we'd missed several speed limit signs while we tried to figure out which road we needed to be on.  After being issued a ticket for speeding, we were on our way again. 

And that was only the beginning of the trip.

The rest of the day into Amarillo was uneventful.  Lady A became the official Speed Limit Checker and called out speed limits as we drove. She even had a whole list of items to check off.

It went like this:
Speed Limit Checker? Check.
Parents? Check.
Sisters? Check.
Truck? Check.
Everything we need in the truck? Check.

The list varied once in a while, but this was her usual list. Lady A enjoyed having a job to do and she did it with great enthusiasm.  

Up next: Amarillo, Texas to Cheyenne, Wyoming

Year in Review - Mid Year Edition

January:

• January saw the beginning of the craziness.  We knew we were moving.  We just didn't know where.  The countdown was on and we had about six months to finish everything we needed to finish before Moving Day.  Michael also started an intense travel schedule again in January.  I had only one class for the Spring semester and absolutely no motivation to work on it.

February/ March:

• While Michael was traveling, we received word that our orders had come in.  He had been interviewed by a unit in Florida and it looked as though that would be where we would be heading.  Instead, we ended up going in the opposite direction! Alaska would be our new home for a few years at least. The Overseas Screening was supposed to be completed within ten (10) days of the receipt of orders.  Michael arrived back home ten days after he received the orders so we tried to finish the screening as quickly as we could.  A round of doctor appointments and dentist visits later and we handed everything in.  We were then told that the paperwork was incomplete as it needed signatures on another form in the packet.  I went back to the doctors and the dentist for signatures.  As my doctor was only part time, it ended up being a week before we were able to send the packet back in.  Again we were told it was missing a signature.  (and we were told the forms were self-explanatory - I disagree) Since it was again my doctor who needed to sign, it took almost another week to return the forms.  By this time we were into the middle of March.  

April:

• By the time April rolled around, we were beginning to get concerned about whether or not we were approved to move to Alaska.  We discovered the official approval came on March 29th.  We were going to Alaska!  Almost immediately I began to wonder if we made a mistake or if this was truly where God wanted us.  After all, we'd hit nothing but roadblocks up until this point.  At the end of the month, we began the process of setting up our household goods shipment. 

May:

• I finally finished my class.  It took a lot of work but it was mostly because I was so focused on trying to sort out all the details for the move that I didn't want to waste time on classwork.  I still passed with an 'A', but just barely.
• We took a short trip to Florida to visit family before we moved to Alaska.  It was a sweet time and we really enjoyed being able to see not only Michael's family, but part of my family as well.  We may not be officially related to the McQuearys, but they are officially part of our family. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and all of us enjoyed celebrating lots of birthdays. 

June:

• June is where things really got interesting.  The girls finished their last week of school while the movers packed and loaded our belongings.  On June 8, we headed out of the Houston area.  I'll be writing more detailed posts about our trip.  Stay tuned for some beautiful scenery!!

Of Mulching, Moving, and Motorcycles

We had cleaned out the old mulch because first it was thin and second I kept getting splinters under my fingernails. But, to make things look pretty, we filled the back of the truck with mulch and shoveled it off into the beds.

The girl's room after it was packed.

This stack dwindled as the day went on.

And this truck was filled in just a few short hours.

But before we left, N drew a picture of her & Michael taking a motorcycle ride together.

Another update

The place I mentioned in the previous post we did go ahead & offer $100 less a month. The owner said that he wanted to hold out for the full amount. Considering the age of the home, the price he wants is a bit high in our opinion (and in that of our realtor).


We looked at another house today that we decided to try to rent. When our realtor called, there was one final thing that had to be done before the listing was taken down. It was well worth the price and in our humble opinions, we are amazed the owner had not asked for $200-300 more.

We are at Rachel's house this afternoon because during our lunch break, our realtor took her car to have the oil changed. Between the time she dropped it off & picked it back up, she had an item stolen out of the car. So, she is handling that and we are resting. At least the girls are quiet right now...

Tomorrow, we will be looking at 2 more houses and we are praying that one will open soon that is squarely within our price range and fits our needs perfectly.

Updates

The house we were interested in has been taken off the market. It was owned by more than one person and one of those people just died. It will probably be placed back on the market on August 1st.

We have continued to look and have made an offer on a place that fits our desires even better than the other place. It is closer to where Michael will be working and it has a large yard & an indoor laundry area. We are hoping that the owner will accept $100 less a month than the asking price. I really have a peace about this place. As I said, it fits perfectly with what we were looking for.

We appreciate your continued prayers as we search for a place to call home.

The Great Search

We have arrived safely in Texas and are now looking for a house.

We thought one we were interested in was leased, but found out today that the folks backed out. There are still about 4 or 5 other applications in on this particular home as well so we are not confident that we will be the ones to officially lease the house.

I am very thankful though that I have family here instead of having to stay in a hotel!

Empty house

The house is empty except for cleaning supplies.

We are trying to track down the same type of paint used by the previous tenants.

And what a blessing, some of our friends are planning to help us with painting. Amazing. I love our friends here.

We had a goodbye party with the praise team on Friday night that was just a sweet time.

We are going to miss this place.

today's the day

the sun is shining, the tank is clean and we are getting out of.... THE TANK IS CLEAN!!!

Actually, the house is a MESS. I think we may finally have most everything ready. I have some last minute things to do, but otherwise, we are good to go.

Except for one small item...

My back.

Yes, I lifted a box that we are bringing with us and hurt my back doing it.

I'd planned to strap Miss E to my back so she would be safe & close. Guess I'm not doing that now.

Please pray that my back will heal soon and that I can find some place safe for Miss E.

Getting close

This week will be a whirlwind of activity!

Monday (today) we will be putting some final touches on the toy boxes, front flower bed, and gathering like items together. (I really want to have all my pictures in one place instead of scattered across the house. )

Tuesday we will be taking the final items to our friend's house. We will be staying at their house while we have no furniture. We will also be doing the final round of laundry and dishes to make sure everything is clean and ready to pack.

Wednesday the first round of packing begins. Michael will not have the day off of work, so a friend and her son will be coming to hang out with us.

Thursday the packing will continue. We are scheduled for 2 days of packing because the company moving us is currently averaging 22 moves a day.

Friday everything will be put onto the truck. The truck will drive off into the sunset and we will start cleaning.

Saturday = cleaning
Sunday = church then cleaning
Monday = painting then cleaning
Tuesday = painting then cleaning
Wednesday = cleaning
Thursday = cleaning
Friday = hopefully passing the final inspection then packing the truck
Saturday = the beginning of the long drive to TX

Pray for us

We are having some issues that need to be resolved in the next couple of days.

Praise God for answered prayers!! Michael called and everything is sorted out!

3 weeks

The goodbyes begin.

I think I will need LOTS of chocolate to make it through. And maybe an industrial size box of tissues.

Today's praises

#1 - Michael mowed most of the yard this evening.

#2 - Date night tomorrow!!

#3 - House showing went well and we even got a compliment on the house. The realtor said that our walls looked great. Michael & I looked at each other and then she said that with little ones she usually sees handprints all over the place. We just smiled & said thanks.

#4 - If this couple decides to rent the place, then we never have to crisis clean again while we are here!

#5 - I had a good visit with my counselor today

Our notice...

I gave our (new) property management company our 30ish day notice.

Our last definite day here will be July 16th. Michael's new unit has requested that he check in to the unit earlier. We are still waiting to hear if the current unit will play nice with others.

Even though things are all up in the air, we at least know where we will be going and that we will have family very close by.

So, the praises have to begin. Otherwise I think I'll lose my mind.

Praise #1 - See above statement. (paragraph 3)

Praise #2 - the Spanakopita turned out well, even if the butter was a bit overwhelming.

Praise #3 - Michael went to pick the girls up from church and the house is quiet with Miss E sleeping.

Praise #4 - I walked for almost 30 minutes today. And got a shower while I was at it!

Praise #5 - The drop-off location for our trash & recycling was open today.